Cori’s Pick: One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

I came across this title as it was being compared to The Breakfast Club movie of 1985.  I’m a product of the ’80s so, SOLD!  (also, I just noticed that The Breakfast Club is rated R….it’s been a minute since I last watched it but R seems a bit harsh, right?  I digress…)

This is a YA book that has all of the drama, gossip and pettiness I remember from high school and I absolutely loved it!  The story centers on the death of a student at Bayview High during detention with four other students and a teacher present.  The four students include the beauty queen, the jock, the brain, and the criminal. Cue ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ by Simple Minds (seriously, if you’ve never seen The Breakfast Club, go do that now).  The story unfolds with chapters told from each of the four students’ perspectives, exposing backstories and secrets that give them each a motive for murder.  This isn’t what I would call a ‘deep’ read but I really enjoyed the story and there was enough suspense and intrigue to keep me flipping pages.

If you enjoy this one as much as I did, earlier this year McManus published the sequel to this book, One of Us Is Next.